the Way of the Turtle

REBUILDING DISTANCE 2010 - Race #9
Rochester Spring Classic F1 Duathlon
Saturday, May 22, 2010

Wow. This was my 6th year of doing the Spring Classic Du... it's amazing how time flies.

Tough race today. Partially due to the heat (which was more late June than late May) and partially due to my being tired from a very long week and not in the shape I wish I was in right now.

Surprisingly, the rides went well... probably because I know the course really well at this point and am getting better at pacing myself. One thing I did notice is my climbing isn't very strong this year. Usually I pass people on the climbs, this year I was making up time on the descents and the flats.

My runs were definitely weak this time around... I was on the slow side during the 1st 2 miler and then even slower for the 1 mile and 2 mile legs later in the race. I guess I just haven't built up the distance reserves that let me hammer out shorter runs like this. Hopefully I can do better in the fall.

All in all, my finish was slower than I'd hoped for, a little over 2 hr 26 min... but when I checked previous years that turned out to be a fairly average time for me, so I guess I don't have too much to be disappointed about.

As always, the folks at Yellowjacket Racing and all the volunteers were fantastic. One of the biggest reasons I keep coming back to this race (besides the fact that it was the first duathlon I ever did and the Mendon area is beautiful in late May) is the incredibly positive attitude there. I like the fact that no matter how long it takes me to finish I always feel like I'm just as important to the folks organizing the race as the faster people are... this is one of the few races I attend that will actually hold off announcing the various winners until after everyone has finished, which is pretty cool of them. And it's why I expect to be back next May for a 7th go around the Spring Classic Du course.

JMH

2010 Event Totals
Run 72.5 mi, 16 hr 02 min
Bike 40.0 mi, 2 hr 56 min
Snowshoe 71.7 mi, 18 hr 26 min
Kayak 3.0 mi, 47 min

states visited: CT, MA, NY, VT